Promoting Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among European Schoolchildren: Rationale, Conceptualization and Design of the Pro Children Project

Abstract

Background/Aims: The Pro Children Project was designed to assess fruit and vegetable consumption in European schoolchildren and their parents, as well as determinants of the children’s consumption patterns. A second objective was to develop and test strategies, applicable across Europe, for promoting consumption of fruits and vegetables among schoolchildren and their parents. In this paper, the rationale, theoretical background, overall design and implementation of the project is presented. Methods: Surveys of national, representative samples of 11-year-old schoolchildren and their parents were conducted in 9 countries, i.e. in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. Comprehensive school-based educational programmes have been developed and tested in three settings, i.e. in Spain, the Netherlands and in Norway. A precoded 24-hour recall form combined with a set of food frequency questions assessing regular intake were used to assess fruit and vegetable consumption. Determinants were assessed employing a comprehensive theoretical framework including personal, social and environmental factors related to fruit and vegetable consumption. The intervention programmes have been tested employing a group-randomized trial design where schools have been randomly allocated to an intervention arm and a delayed intervention arm. Surveys among all participating children and their parents were conducted prior to the initiation of the intervention, immediately after the end of the intervention and at the end of the subsequent school year. Conclusion: The project is expected to provide new information of great importance for improving our understanding of consumption patterns of fruits and vegetables and for guiding future efforts to promote increased consumption patterns across Europe.

Hábitos de vida y estilos de cuidado de los progenitores relacionados con la obesidad infantil: comparación de una población española con poblaciones de países del Norte de Europa: ENERGY-Project

“…For the purposes of this study, data from Spain, Belgium, The Netherlands and Norway were analysed. Based on a previous study, 23 we decided that a sample of 1,000 children per country and one parent per child (main caregiver) was required. The sample was representative at a national level in The Netherlands, but in the other three countries schools were selected as follows: in Spain from the Aragon Autonomous Region; in Belgium from Flanders (the Dutch-speaking north of the country); and in Norway from regions in the south of the country.…”

A systematic review of methods to assess intake of fruits and vegetables among healthy European adults and children: a DEDIPAC (DEterminants of DIet and Physical Activity) study

“…Pro-Children study (42,86,87) Cross-sectional 11 years 9 (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway Portugal, Spain, Sweden) Self-admin. X A pre-coded 24-HDR*, FFQ* ToyBox (95)(96)(97)(98)(99)(100)(101)(102)(103)(104)(105)(106) Intervention multifactorial study 3·5-5·5 years 6 (Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Poland, Spain)…”

General parenting styles are not strongly associated with fruit and vegetable intake and social–environmental correlates among 11-year-old children in four countries in Europe

“…A detailed description of the Pro Children project, including the sampling and data collection procedure, is given elsewhere (1,18) .…”